Ameren combines a 10.6% rate-base growth runway with data-center upside, offering defensive 6%–8% EPS growth at a modest 19.0x P/E.
Overview
Ameren Corporation (AEE) is a rate-regulated electric and natural gas utility serving approximately 2.5 million electric customers and more than 900,000 gas customers across Missouri and Illinois. Its regulated monopoly territories create predictable cash flows, while transmission, grid modernization, generation replacement, and data-center demand provide an unusually visible growth runway for a defensive utility. **The principal growth engine is the $31.8 billion capital plan through 2030, which is expected to produce approximately 10.6% annual rate-base growth and support management’s 6%–8% EPS CAGR target.** The signed 2.8 gigawatts of data-center ESAs in Missouri offer upside to the 1.2-gigawatt baseline load assumption and could drive a 60% increase in annual electricity sales from 2025 levels by 2029. Q2 2026 diluted EPS rose 11.9% to $1.13 and exceeded consensus by $0.05, although revenue fell 5.81% year over year to $2.092 billion and missed consensus by $180 million. Management reaffirmed 2026 EPS guidance of $5.25–$5.45. At approximately 19.0x TTM P/E versus a 21.01x ten-year average, with a 2.76% dividend yield, AEE offers a balanced growth-income profile. The main catalysts are rate-case outcomes, capital deployment, and data-center interconnections.